The Fallen: Alicorn Amulet

by JenkinsRevenge

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Sad, Tragedy, Adventure
Length: 6085

The alicorn amulet. A magical necklace that when placed around the neck gives it users great power, equal to that of an alicorn. But it has a price. While giving the user its power it requires something in return: their soul.

What is the alicorn amulet? When was it created? Where did it come from? Why does it corrupt its users so?
It grants its user great power, but retaliated by taking something from its user: their soul.
Their goodness, their innocence, their hopes, their dreams, and their sanity, all gone.
Absorbed by the magical lure.

(A sort of pre/sequel to story "The Unknown History and The Magical Future")

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-02 01:18:05 UTC

Born from the Ashes...

Even the purest of hearts can be blackened and turned to hate. No matter what, all things fall, fall into the endless abyss of evil that is *corruption*.

Ten years after the banishment of Nightmare Moon...The ruler of the day, the goddess of the sun, Celestia, was laying before the tall statue of her parents. Standing tall above her was the stone image of her mother and her father. They seemed to have their heads held high, gazing at the night sky. Stars shot through the air leaving long trails of light and glitter hanging against the dark blue, almost black, sky. The white alicorn before the grand statue was crying, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her heart ached with the hole her sister left behind. She looked up and in between the two massive statuettes shone the moon. On its surface was an alicorn's neck and head, carved into the glowing white rock with craters. Atop the mountain Celestia could hear stars rushing past her, causing cooling breezes and flashing lights. They all passed, never coming close enough to hit her, the statues, or the mountain side.

The princess was nearly thrown off the mountain by twin stars that flew only inches away from her head. She looked up to see them disappear far off in the distance out of sight. Celestia stood there watching for awhile, and just as she began to turn her head away to continue her sorrowful sobbing there was a flash. Far off, beyond her sight something had crashed into the ground causing a monumental explosion, and a magnificent  burst of color. The shocked princess had forgotten her previous sorrow and was now filled with sudden curiosity. She rose and spread her long, feathery wings. With a strong jump and several flaps of her regal wings she was gliding towards the gigantic hole in the ground where the stars had crashed.

The large crater was red hot and at its center there could be seen the hearts of the stars slowing dimming, cooling down. As Celestia landed and approached the two spheres of light, she could feel the golden shoes she was wearing start to become warm, and melt. The alicorn stopped when she stood over the balls of heat. Her eyes began to burn from looking at them for so long. A single tear rolled down her cheek from her eyes and fell onto the source of the heat; there was a loud hiss and the light exploded out into a magical bubble that engulfed the princess. She looked down and she could see clearly. Beneath her were two small alicorns. One was a boy whose fur was a cyan hue and on his back rested two small wings. On his wings were two braces and his horn spiraled up in a point. His eyes glowed brightly but through the blinding light laid two hazel spheres of beauty. The pony laying next to him was a female whose coat was a pure scarlet. Her horn was longer and thinner than the alicorn's next to her, but it came to a sharp end. It reminded Celestia of the one that Nightmare Moon possessed, but with a crimson tint. The two wings that were attached to her back looked like that of her brother but with slightly less feathers, and hers were a unique rust color. Her eyes were a dark cardinal shade that seemed to drip into her pupils.

The twins rested silently and then were lifted by Celestia's magic theirs seemed to fade, and the sparkling bubble around the three of them faded. Connecting the two infants was a golden chain that rested around both their necks. Each side had a silver heart with a named engraved on it. The boy's name was Empyrean and the girl's was Nefaria.

Eight years later...

"Put. Her. Down." Empyrean said to the large, grey unicorn that was magically holding Nefaria up by her mane.

"Not until she gives me back my ball!" Shouted the taller pony. The teacher then approached the students that were arguing at the edge of the playground.

"What seems to be the problem?" She questioned the ponies. She then took notice of the small, crimson alicorn suspended in the air by magic, tears in her eyes. "Steelspark! Put Nefaria down this instant!" She scolded the unicorn. He dropped her.

"She took my ball!" Steelspark complained. The teacher turned to the the little alicorn.

"Nefaria, is this true?" She asked.

"No!" She said with a whimper. And burst into a fit of tears.

"Now, now little one." The teacher comforted her, holding her in a tight hug. "Steelspark you're in time out, and when you're done you're going to apologize to Nefaria for what you did." She then promptly stood up and dragged Steelspark away from the playground.

"Are you okay?" Empyrean questioned his younger sister.

"Yeah, he's just a big bully." She said before walking away. Once at a safe distance, the tears vanished from the little filly's eyes and her horn glowed as she smiled. The blue rubber ball appeared and began to bounce next to her...

Seven years later...

...Nefaria walked into her and her brother's chamber and plopped down on the nearby couch. She just laid their looking at the ceiling out of breath.

"And where were you?" Her brother's voice could be heard coming from the balcony. She groaned and sat up looking over the back of the sofa. Past the two glass doors was her brother sitting on his rump looking up at the stars. Beside him was a canvas with a magically levitating brush that stroked up and down it, leaving trails of paint that were forming a magnificent image of the night sky.

"Out." Nefaria responded before getting up and walking over to sit next to him. The painting he had created looked nothing like the sky out tonight, which was bland and somewhat dim. She remembered reading a history book about how the original princess of the night, Princess Luna, made beautiful artwork on the night sky, filling it with shining stars, and creatively shaped clouds. When she was banished to the moon her sister was forced to uphold the duty of raising the sun and the moon. Being very busy and inexperienced Princess Celestia did not have time to decorate or beautify the night sky, but her brother had seemed to have perfected it.

There were many colorful, gleaming stars that filled the canvas. Clouds that looked like happy, joyous ponies were poised and hanging in the air. Small curls of white could be seen being brushed onto the cloth depicting a soft, cooling breeze. The moon in the picture had the face of an alicorn printed on it, one that Nefaria instantly knew had to be Luna's. Empyrean broke her train of thought. "Out?" He asked curiously, taking his hazel eyed gaze off the sky and directing them towards her.

"With Midnight Fire." She explained.

"Wasn't he in a detention center?" Empyrean looked at her quizzically.

"Yes, your point?"

"Oh no point. just curious."

"OH!" Nefaria shouted. "I almost forgot!" She said before standing up and spreading her wings. The feathers at the end of her wingspan were cut and fashioned to look like flame.

"Wow." Her brother said. "Did you get a tattoo too?" He said sarcastically.

"How'd you know?" She said before turning around. Right above her cutie marks on either side, which were two rubies shrouded in two black clouds, were the words "goddess."

"Wow." Repeated Empyrean.

"And that's not the best part!" She said before running back into the room and searching through her saddle bag. "Aha!" She exclaimed before walking back onto the balcony with something in her mouth. Nefaria put it down in front of her curious brother. It was a necklace, an iron necklace. Its base was an upside down triangle with on its top were two iron wings and an alicorn head turned to one side. The wings were decorated with red stripes and the eyes on the iron alicorn face were also red. But what really impressed him was that there was a massive ruby at the center of the upside down triangle.

"Please do tell, did you actually pay for this with your own money for a change?"

"Actually I did." Nefaria said proudly. "I figured it would be best if I paid for something every once and a while." She said before putting on the necklace and smiling at her older brother. "Anyway, I'm going to hit the hay." And with that she walked back into the chamber, and as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out. Her brother signed before returning to his work...

...Nefaria sat up groggily. She looked around the room and set her half open eyes on her brother's bed across the room. It was neatly made and the azure curtains that hung around it were open. Nefaria rolled out of bed and walked over to the mirror. Her mane was disheveled and pointing out in every direction, and behind her in the mirror she could see the rest of the room. To her left was her brother's side, which was neat, organized, and had everything put in its proper place. Her side was quite the opposite. All the drawers to her dresser were open, combs, lipstick, and makeup were out. Her clothes, earrings, and ribbons were scattered everywhere. Her clothes, though she rarely wore them, were slung over the bedposts, floor, and dresser. She then took notice of the note stuck between the mirror and its saffron frame. It was written in a wonderfully written cursive.

Dear sister,

Princess Celestia is hosting a get together for some friends from out of country. She would like it very much if you were to come and make them welcome. Yet, it is still a formal event and the princess trusts you will wear something suitable for such an occasion. In other words: come to dinner and dress nice, please.

Your brother,

Empyrean

A Special Occasion

The day passed quickly. Nefaria had spent most of it with her teacher, Ms. Nightingale, studying magic. It was her favorite subject. She found great difficulty in paying attention to any other class. But she truly loathed one in particular: music. Nefaria had the most beautiful singing voice in all of Equestria her teacher told her, but there was one problem: effort. Almost every time she went to that class she refused to sing, or came up with some excuse to get out of it. She couldn't help feel like the teacher was singling her out from everypony else.

Nefaria levitated the dress over from her bed. She had it ordered specially made from a tailor. It was hoof stitched and had rubies magically crafted onto it. It was made of a black silk that began at the base of her neck and then covered the rest of her body, all except her head. Around the waist was a belt of rubies and sapphires. White glitter covered her hooves and joints, making them more noticeable and somehow made them look smoother. Traveling down her back, tracing her spine, was a long line of diamonds that shimmered and created little dots of light on the ceiling above. The braces on her back were made up of the same material as her horn. And she had painted over the rustic color, making them black for the special occasion. Around her neck laid the necklace she had bought the previous day. It had been polished and made smooth by the jewelers. Nefaria also took time at the end of the day to brighten the highlights she had in her hair. She had put streaks of red in her pitch black mane when she was twelve. At age fourteen she also had golden colored highlights put in her tail.

After she had gotten into her dress and readjusted the amulet around her neck she left her room and strolled towards the Great Hall where their dinner would be served. When she came to the large wooden entrance to the Great Hall, she realized that her brother was waiting for her. He was dressed in a white tuxedo with a simple bow tie tied around his neck. His wings were folded against his sides and his normally disheveled hair was combed to the side in a neat fashion. When she arrived at his side he smiled.

"At first I thought you weren't coming. Ready?" He asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She said before she turned to the large double doors. Empyrean's horn glowed with a white aura and both the doors swung open revealing a long wooden table. At the end of it was the monarch of the day: Celestia. She beamed at both her adopted children.

"I'm so glad you two could come." She said extending her right fore leg towards the two empty cushions that sat to her right. Both Nefaria and Empyrean smiled back before advancing and taking their seats next to the princess. Shortly after, several trumpets blared announcing that the visitors had came down from their quarters and were about to enter the Great Hall. The doors were pushed open by the two royal guards that were positioned outside them. Their guests stepped forward. There was a male and a female. Both earth ponies. Each had a lighter grey coat striped with lines of black. The king and queen of the foreign country stepped forth and when they reached their seats both zebras sat down elegantly.

From there they had their meals and talked merrily about their countries and learned much about each other's culture. All through their eating, dancers and entertainers from the foreign country performed for them. The talented zebras conducted magnificent tricks and stupendous acts, doing flips in the air and spins at outrageous speeds. About halfway through their meal the alicorns and zebras were joined by the King and Queen's daughter and son. They all laughed and joked happily, thoroughly enjoying themselves. When each pony had had their fill they all went for a tour around Canterlot and its castle. During the tour Nefaria started up a conversation with the foreign diplomat's son while her brother conversed with the zebra princess.

"And that's enough about me, I would much rather here about thee." The prince concluded after telling Nefaria some of his adventures he had in his distant land.

"Well, I guess I should start at the beginning. My brother and I were orphaned as babies and Princess Celestia adopted us. I really like to study and do magic too. I just like the idea of doing what I want, and being who I was born to be. That's actually how I got my cutie mark." Nefaria began.

On the other carriage Empyrean was pointing and explaining to the female zebra what all the structures were and what their purpose was. She seemed to be distracted though. Every once in a while the slate pony would question his about his horn and wings. Zakiyah, the zebra princess, was fascinated with the ideas of magic and flight. She longed for a day when she herself could roam the skies and enchant the world with her magic. It was for this reason that she took a liking to writing poetry, even though all of it was written in rhyme.

Empyrean jumped up and hit his head against the inside of the carriage.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry," the zebra said after touching the very sensitive spot at the base of his wing.

"No need to worry." Empyrean said finishing her rhyme while rubbing the bump on his head.

"I was unaware of their sensitivity, next time I won't touch so rude or harshly." She apologized.

"It's fine. You didn't know better." He smiled at her. "Now where was I?"

"That is quite a remarkable story, I wish mine had been so filled with mystery and glory." The zebra prince known as Zaniel remarked looking at his own cutie mark.

"And I got this done." She said showing her new feather fashion to the on looking zebra. He sat in the carriage wide eyed, mouth agape. "And there were some ponies from Sadle-Arabia that sold me this." Nefaria said turning around flashing her iron necklace of an alicorn at the still surprised zebra.

"They are all wonderful additions to be sure, but none could outshine the beauty I am before." It took a minute for Nefaria to digest the rhyme and understand it before she realized it was a compliment. She could now feel his hot breath against her neck and she backed up as the pony drawn vehicles came to a stop.

The door to Empyrean's carriage opened and he, followed by Zakiyah, stepped out and walked towards Princess Celestia. As he made his way over to her his sister appeared next to him, and behind them followed the two zebras. The four ponies halted when they now stood before the goddess of the sun.

"While this has been fun and enlightening, I regret to announce that Zakiyah and Zaniel must return with their parents to their home." Celestia said. The king and queen of the zebras appeared behind her and began saying their farewells. Empyrean and Nefaria turned to Zakiyah and Zaniel before embracing them and saying goodbye. As Empyrean held the zebra he could feel her brush her hoof against his folded wings. And while Nefaria hugged the prince she could feel his hooves glide across her flank causing her to shrink away from the touch, driving herself further into the zebra. When the four ponies let go of one another they all noticed that Empyrean and Nefaria were both sporting bright blushes.

The three alicorns waved their hooves bidding their friends goodbye as they disappeared into the distance on a zebra drawn carriage.

Rise with the Sun

Several days had passed since the zebras of the faraway land had had their visit. Empyrean woke with the smell of brimstone filling his nostrils. Brimstone? He thought. He sat up and saw that on the line that divided their room was a wall of magical energy. On the other side of the muffling spell was Nefaria with her back turned to him. She was reading a textbook from her magic class and was practicing some of its spells. Being a morning person once awake he found it impossible to go back to sleep. It was more of a curse than a gift. He turned his head to look out the window and saw that it was pitch black. Uggggggggggh He rolled out of bed and walked over to his dresser. He picked up his own book and placed it on his bed before looking at the clock hanging on the wall.

2:45 A.M.

Of course. He laid down on his bed before opening the blue book and magically levitating a quill and ink to his side. He sighed and began to scribble words down onto the pages. He looked at the horrific-- His train of thought was severed as a bang came from the other side of the room. He grunted before returning to his writing. He looked at the horrific image before him. The love of his life-- Another disruption, another bang. The love of his life was lying on the ground before him, dead. Her lifeless body-- His hearing and eyesight was far beyond that of a normal pony, being an alicorn. On instinct he cocked his head to the side as a blast of magical energy shot past his head hitting the wall behind him. It left a small, black burn mark on the paint. He puffed out hot air out of his nostrils before returning to his novel. Her lifeless body lay on the ground, cold. His horn glowed hot pink and the poison he carried with him was brought to his lips-- SMACK! "FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA!"

The cyan alicorn looked up as the pink magic dripped from his face, falling onto the bed sheets causing flowers to sprout from its wet spots. He looked up and saw Nefaria rushing towards him.

"OH MY GOSH! You should see yourself, you look simply hilarious!" She said, without even the slightest thought of apologizing, as she wiped the sweet liquid from his face with a handkerchief. The now angered alicorn erased the idea of a happy ending from his mind and scribbled down the last few depressing lines of his book before looking up into his sister's face.

"Were you up all night?"

"No. I actually woke up at 1:00 and had a sudden idea: the textbook must have something about looking into the past; so I thought maybe we could find our parents and I guess I got carried away looking at other spells and--" Nefaria began before she was cut off by Empyrean.

"We go through this every month. They're gone Nefaria. It's been fifteen years. Listen, I know it's hard, but please try to let go." He said pulling his sister close to him.

"I know..." She said as tears began to fill her eyes. "It's just I can't help it. I want to know more about them, something more than, 'Oh, you just fell from the sky.'" The alicorn pouted. Empyrean felt his agitation and crankiness leave him as he held his sister close, comforting her.

They sat there for what seemed like an eternity. Their soft bodies resting on the other's. Eventually Nefaria broke the hug and sniffed smiling. She walked back over to her bed, closed the book, and placed it in her saddle bag. The alicorn chuckled as she wiped the last of the shimmering droplets from her eyes. The sun had risen and she got herself ready to go to breakfast.

The air flowed through his mane, his eyes began to burn, and his hooves were covered in sweat. The alicorn ran down the field at full speed. His legs were a blur and his body a streak of bright blue. Once he had reached his target his entire body shifted, bringing his hind legs into the air. And with a flex of his hind muscles the pony sent the massive golden weight flying high into the air. It glided for several hundred meters before beginning its decent. After several minutes the obnoxiously heavy block slammed into the ground causing a massive shake. Empyrean gently landed next to it and folded his feathery wings against his sides. All around him were weights identical to the one before him. All dented with two large hoof prints. He chuckled as the watch on his wrist beeped. He spread his wings yet again as he left the long, lime green field and headed towards the campus's school building.

Nefaria, Midnight Fire, and Shadow Dust, all waited in the bushes giggling as their next victim opened their door.

"Hello? Is somepony there?" The amber pony asked and she poked her head out of the doorway. The string neatly attached to the door was pulled and the bucket of cold water came crashing down on the completely unsuspecting pony. She gasped before she was drenched in the frigid substance. Following the icy water was the bucket that landed on her head spinning around. The three tricksters laughed and joked as they ran away from the scene of the crime.

Empyrean walked towards the office at the end of the hallway. When they reached it his friends waved him goodbye as he picked up Nefaria's missed work, before he headed out the back doors. He was getting tired of it, having to pick up the pony's work as she merrily ditched school to go out and conduct misdemeanors on the common folk. His long, brightly colors wings carried him back to Canterlot Castle.

Shadow Dust strolled past the elderly earth pony and his horn dimly glowed sage as the old pony's bits left his pouch reappearing on the young unicorn's back. He, Midnight Fire, and Nefaria all laughed as they bought lunch with the stolen money and ate ravenously.

"Did you see his face?" Midnight Fire chuckled as he recalled relentlessly beating the heroic pony who had tried to stop him from molesting a passing female pedestrian. He continued to shovel the sandwiches into his mouth.

"Yeah..." Shadow Dust agreed. He wasn't was well build as the pegasus but he had a taste for deception and indirect mischief. He  nibbled at the salad before him.

"Tomorrow's Nightmare Night." Nefaria chimed in between gulps of scolding hot pizza. "We could pay a visit to the Everfree Forest."

"Yessssss." Midnight Fire and Shadow Dust both hissed in unison.

The matriarch of the day rested silently on her soft, comfy bed. She dreamt of her sister: the late Princess Luna. The first day she had risen the sun over all the land. The first night her cobalt twin lifted the rock white in hue over the world. The Princess of the Sun felt an experience that had been lost to her for years, she felt the unicorn of darkness exercise his powers yet again. Oh no. Her words echoed in her head. The divine ruler of the sun then felt her body again. She was standing in complete darkness. In the distance she could see her exit, her escape. With all her might she flew straight towards the floating, open doorway. The moment before she had reached it, the magical entrance to consciousness slammed shut and faded into the black.

The unmistakable, dark, booming laugh rattled her brain. The endless abyss of black filled with bright colors and the sounds, smells, and tastes of nature hung all around Celestia. This was her memory, a memory of her childhood. She was running and playing with her sister, Princess Luna, when they were both young innocent fillies. In the time before she had matured Celestia's hair was not an ever flowing, polychromatic wave of hair, instead it was a short, pink mane. Her and her sister rolled in the flowers, flew through the leaves of the dreams, and played with all of nature's animals. From her own eyes she saw what bliss and joy she and her sibling had back in their years of children. More memories and past times flashed by. The guardian of the sun's eyes began to moisturize and become wet with tears. One final, special moment froze in place. The sky was dark and filled with blessed stars and perfectly dyed clouds. Hanging to the left of the sky was a solid, pale white rock: the moon. It seemed to be moving West, as the sun rose into the air from the East. Sitting on the tallest hill in the area were the younger versions Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Behind them stood their parents. The mother was an alicorn whose fur was a pure, innocent white. As her fur extended from the center her body it changed to peach, and then darkened to a perfect purple. The father stood tall alongside her. The male pony's coat was a dark navy blue that shimmered and glistened with all the stars of the universe. Waves of emotions poured over the watching princess and the image burned. From its corners it succumbed to flame that gave off terrible, black plumes of smoke.

The smoke soon dispersed and Celestia's vision became filled with faces until a great crowd stood before her. She raised her right fore leg into the air as banners of the Lunar Republic came with it. She then was switched to an aerial third person perspective. Below her was Nightmare Moon leading her troops towards Equestria. The view shattered and fell.

Now she was in her own body. Celestia was in the Great Hall of Canterlot Castle. Beside her stood the pony who she knew would die only in a matter of seconds. Star Swirl the Bearded stepped forward allowing an eruption of golden sparks to leap from his horn showering the corrupted, ruler of the night. She stood blocking his spell with her own magic. Sweat poured from her body and her legs began to crumble, as she was forced back onto the floor. Then the most unforgivable thing happened. Tentacles of black magic and shadow rose from the cracks between the stone the floor was made up of. They wrapped themselves around Nightmare Moon and sunk into her skin. The tall, pointed horn that had waves of magic flooding from it, was surrounded by a dark blue aura filled with the night stars. The aura blackened and fell to the color of hate itself as newly installed power burst from her horn fighting back against the magical prodigy, Star Swirl. Her glowing white eyes returned to normal save one small detail: her eyes were a greedy golden shade. She was no longer in control the mare of the night watched in horror as she mentally fought her own magic, trying to stop the assault. Her magic shoved Star Swirl back onto his rump and his own magic was forced back into his horn. The curse then left Nightmare Moon.

The black tentacles traveled from her horn to Star Swirl's.

"He cannot be freed." The unicorn said as he cast his final spell: destroying his soul. It exploded outwards from his chest and his now golden eyes widened and fried as the unicorn's body was annihilated in the wake of his own magic. Filled with a need for vengeance and blood the sovereign ruler of the sun looked down at the weakened pony of nightmares.

"No, nononono! I didn't! It wasn't me!" Nightmare Moon pleaded. She hadn't killed the unicorn, she had not just murdered her and her sister's own student. Princess Celestia's horn glowed as the Elements of Harmony appeared and with a blast of celestial light she banished her sister to an imprisonment on the moon for one thousand years.

Celestia jolted upright in bed with her head feeling like it had been hit with a carriage. Everything in the room was covered in a golden shade. It was then she noticed her horn was glowing with a black cloud. She panicked as it faded and her sight brought back its colors. What had she done? What had *he** done?* Celestia threw herself through time and space and reappeared in the caverns beneath Canterlot Castle. She let out a long, relieving sigh. Before her, still fully functional, was a glowing prison, shining, blood red crystal. The same dark booming laughed shook the cave as she teleported away, far away; heading anywhere, anywhere but there.

Several thousand miles away a mountain shook, its entirety glowed with an aura of dark magic and black cloud. The item placed at its heart was awoken. The entire mountain came crumbling down as the book at its foundations woke, destroying the massive rock.

Nightmare Night, One Thousand Years in the Making

The spraying ceased and Shadow Dust stepped back to admire his work. On the side of the house he had used a spray can to create an image of Nightmare Moon crushing a young foal. Her hooves were dug into his chest and with a final spray of red paint the blood was depicted and the masterpiece completed. He pulled up his hood and stepped out of the ally into the street. Across from him were Nefaria and Midnight Fire rolling on the ground laughing. The unicorn shook his head from side to side while watching the two scared fillies run away from them. They had jumped out from a nearby bush both dressed as timberwolves, stealing the breathe and candy from the terrified children.

The three egged, tee peed, and vandalized houses to their fullest. The best part about Canterlot was the downtown area. No rules, no restrictions, just danger and adrenaline. After each was thoroughly satisfied with their mischief, they took a carriage to the Everfree Forest, being a princess certainly had its perks.

Empyrean set the bowl of candy on the step outside his friend's house and smiled. He could see children going around collecting sweets from all the houses of the neighborhood. They all ran with glee and good fun. At the end of the street was a small filly being shown around by her parents, Empyrean remember his first Nightmare Night.

Empyrean slowly walked up to the front door of the house. It was decorated with cobwebs and spiders. Smoke glided across the brown wood of the steps and slipped into the cracks in between. A single, dim red light shown from inside the house.  He knocked on the door gently.

"No, no, no." His sister corrected him. "Like this." She said hitting the door exponentially harder. He winced as the loud sound of her hoof hitting the door found its way to his ears. The door opened and a pegasus with a bowl on her back leaned down smiling at the small ponies. "Nightmare Night! What a fright, may we have something nice to bite!" Nefaria chanted (overtime this saying would change into the modern version). The pegasus outfitting in a vampire costume lowered her head revealing the candy to them. Nefaria's horn glowed a scarlet hue and two pieces of candy floated into her bag. Empyrean did the same only taking one.

"Thank you!" Empyrean waved from the sidewalk. He caught up with his eagerly, galloping sister. "I thought the rules were to take one so everypony would have enough candy for everypony else."

"Oh! The next house looks really cool!" Nefaria chimed not hearing him in the slightest. The house she was observing had magical flames burning on its rooftop (not doing any actual damage), the garden was filled with plastic faces of horror, and the doorway was filled with two doors fashioned to look like the Gates of Tartarus. When the door to the house had opened it revealed a small pegasus with a bowl of candy in his mouth. He was dressed in an outfit of the royal guard. He set down the bowl filled to the rim with candy and looked at them happily.

"Hi! I'm Midnight Fire! What's your name?"

Empyrean was brought back to the present by the sudden music that turned on inside the party. He closed the door, blocking out the cold air and the distant memory.

The two archaeologists were rummaging through the rubble. They moved stone and dig holes. They had been the first to arrive at the site of the broken mountain. The scavengers searched for anything that would get them the money for their next meal. The head archaeologist was called over by his assistant. He had in his hooves a heavy black book. It was quite large and had handwriting on it neither of them recognized. The younger apprentice opened the book and scrolled through its pages. They were filled from top to bottom in a beautifully written handwriting. The words seemed to flow and connect together. But with sharp tips to each letter and darkly written beginnings to each line. He flipped quickly through the pages and carelessly cut himself. The paper cut went deep and as he recoiled a single drop of blood fell onto the pages. As the assistant sucked on his wounded hoof he noticed the blood red stain seep into the binding of the book. His eyes went wide as the words on the pages disappeared and were replaced with a pair of eyes. The golden pearls of magic seemed to instill fear in him as they looked into his eyes. The assistant tapped his mentor on the shoulder showing him the book.

"Whaa..." His voice trailed off. He extended his left front hoof and touched the pages. A spear toothed smile appeared on the pages and hundreds of tendrils of black magic exploded from the pages. They quickly wrapped around the two explorers and sucked them into the open novel. Laughter as dark as pitch and as loud as a hurricane emanated from the open opus and echoed through the empty land. The royal carriage that stopped at the sight of the mountain's destruction shook violently and the armored zebras inside looked at one another before exiting the vehicle. They too searched the sight of the crumbled mountain until they found the dark journal at its center.